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Rafalca who? Romney horse not a hit

GREENWICH PARK — Ann Romney’s horse Rafalca may be a media darling here at the London Olympics, but the name left many dressage fans in the crowd asking, “Rafalca who?”

“I’m here to see the English team, of course, and Anky,” Sue Clark, of Hastings, England, told POLITICO, referring to returning gold medalist Anky van Grunsven, of the Netherlands. “I don’t know anything about Rafalca, but I do know Romney made a bit of a goof when he was here.”

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Others, like Virginian Desire Herrick, who was draped in an American flag for the occasion, couldn’t care less about the politics of the horse’s owner.

“I’m not really into the politics,” Herrick said, a veterinary student studying abroad. “I’m sure she’s a lovely horse, but to be honest, I don’t care.”

All that matters, Herrick said, was for the three-member U.S. dressage team to have a shot at the medal stand this year. “I think they have potential,” Herrick said. “I don’t want to say I think they’ll win gold, but I’d like them to.”

Rafalca and her rider Jan Ebeling, sporting the traditional top hat and tails, tried to do just that on Thursday. Dancing their Grand Prix test to a music mix that featured classical piano, wailing guitar and even a smooth-jazz section with a saxophone solo, Ebeling and Rafalca delivered a solid performance with a score of 70.243 percent to finish the day in 13th place.

Ann Romney, who took time off from her husband’s presidential campaign to support Rafalca and Ebeling, cheered from the stands after the duo completed the seven-minute test and later said the performance “thrilled me to death.”

Although the stadium at Greenwich Park was packed with spectators during the morning competition, the stands were dotted with empty seats during Rafalca’s ride just after noon. Due to the schedule of the day’s rides, Ebeling and Rafalca were the first pair up after a short break that followed a high-scoring, crowd-pleasing performance by Britain’s Carl Hester on Uthopia, who topped the scoreboard with 77.720 percent. With dressage’s strict etiquette rules demanding complete silence and no movement from the crowd during each test, a number of viewers didn’t make it back into the stands to watch Ann Romney’s horse.

Not that many of them minded too much. American ex-pat and dressage fan Susie Watson, who’s called England home for 18 years along with her husband Rick, said Rafalca wasn’t even on her radar until Romney visited London last week.

“I never heard of that Rafalca horse until Mitt was in the news here,” Watson said. “I don’t know U.S. riders.”

Ann Romney told Dressage-News.com earlier this year that her husband has selected dancing music for Rafalca in the past, but Romney told NBC News last week, “I have to tell you, this is Ann’s sport. I’m not even sure which day the sport goes on. She will get the chance to see it. I will not be watching the event. I hope her horse does well.”